


you pull me in and i'm a little more brave

by tmylm



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Bechloe AU, F/F, Strangers to Lovers, bechloe - Freeform, bechloe high school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28895109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmylm/pseuds/tmylm
Summary: Chloe thinks there's something very interesting about the new girl in school. She wants to know more.
Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 80
Kudos: 211





	1. friday

**Author's Note:**

> I've been promising a Fearless fic. Admittedly, the actual 'Fearless' stuff is in chapter two, but a two-parter made sense to me. Enjoy!
> 
> Fic title (and upcoming ideas) from Taylor Swift's _Fearless_.

It feels almost silly to Beca, the fact that the largely empty, unfamiliar hallway seems to mentally transport her right back more than ten years in the blink of an eye. The cream colored walls, slightly clinical in appearance, remind her of a less vibrant first day of kindergarten, what with the addition of biting uncertainty and relentless apprehension swirling deep inside of her and all. Of course, Beca was not the only new kid back then; her peers were all in the same terrifying boat, which somehow made the huge transition somewhat smoother, despite the fact that Beca was never quite as outgoing as the rest of them. Unfortunately, she does not have that same safety net this time around.

There really is no good time to be the newest addition to an established grade of teenagers, but Beca is pretty certain that her timing is perhaps the worst it could possibly be. Clearly, her parents weren’t thinking about the repercussions for their only daughter when they’d decided to announce their long-time-coming divorce. And Beca knows that it has to completely suck for them, of course she does, but opting to move them from their family home and into two much smaller, much more affordable neighborhoods has affected Beca greatly, too. It is because of those changes that Beca now finds herself starting a whole new school in the middle of the semester, and she cannot help but feel more than slightly bitter for that fact.

Junior year is hellish enough without an impromptu upheaval, but at least Beca had been comfortable in her old school, surrounded by familiar faces and the small handful of friends she had managed to maintain throughout her forced years in education. Moving a sixteen year old—a small, closed off sixteen year old who does not have the best time with fitting in at that—is an act Beca considers cruel, but it is her fate, so all she can do is accept it and quietly grumble, and do her best to fade into the background.

That is easier said than done, of course, something Beca learns the moment she is escorted into her first class of the day by a member of staff whose name seems to have completely passed Beca by. She supposes that her one saving grace is the fact that it is still the beginning of the period, therefore most of her new classmates are busy talking amongst themselves, but she takes note of various eyes drifting curiously toward her, and does her best not to accidentally lock onto any of them in return.

“Rebeca,” she hears the mumbled sound of this period’s teacher addressing her as he scans over her notes.

“Uh, just Beca,” Beca corrects quickly, and it is clear that she has spoken a little too loudly, considering the way she feels even more sets of questioning eyes boring into her from the rowdy class of students. She thinks she hears a snicker from somewhere close by, but Beca mentally tells herself it is not directed at her. Regardless, her pale cheeks flush a soft shade of crimson at the very thought.

“Alright,” the teacher says with a short nod of his head. He offers Beca a kind smile, though it doesn’t do too much to calm her nerves. “Well, welcome to Barden High, Beca. I’m Mr. Scott, and I believe there is a free desk for you in the third row.” He pauses to quickly sweep his gaze toward the expanse of the room, then confirms his statement with another brief nod. “Lilly, please move your things and let Beca take her seat.”

Lilly responds with a small puff of air through her nose and a mumble of some kind that Beca doesn’t quite hear, but she proceeds to sweep her belongings from beneath Beca’s new desk and toward her own without further complaint, and Beca offers her something of an apologetic grimace as she approaches the area. She takes note of the empty desk to her left, too, and wonders why she can’t just take that one so as not to inconvenience Lilly, but she chooses not to ask aloud.

“Alright, guys, settle down,” Mr. Scott bellows over the mixed sounds of excited chatter. “Stacie, you’ll have plenty of time to talk about which guys are _sooo cute_ later.” His mimicking tone pulls a chuckle from the class, and the girl Beca assumes is Stacie seems just as highly amused as everybody else as she straightens in her seat. “Right now, I want everybody’s focus on Hawthorne.”

While many students groan under their breath at the very idea, everybody lazily reaches for their copies of _The Scarlet Letter_ , a book Beca owns herself thanks to the syllabus at her old school, but that she hadn’t quite gotten the memo to bring in with her today. Rather than draw attention to the fact—Beca figures the less attention she draws to herself, the better—Beca sinks back a little bit into her new seat, and Mr. Scott apparently doesn’t think to check.

The class has been in session for about ten minutes by the time the teacher, mid-question about something particularly descriptive in the text, is interrupted by the opening door, and all eyes idly drift upward to take in the latecomer.

It is sort of comical really, the way Beca’s slackened jaw practically hits her desk.

“I’m really sorry I’m late, Mr. Scott,” the new arrival says, “My dog had babies super early this morning! I’ve been helping to get them settled.”

There are a few squeals of excited _aww_ ’s, and someone quickly demands _pics!_ , but Mr. Scott shoots a brief frown the student’s way, before nodding toward the empty desk beside Beca. “Nice of you to join us, Ms. Beale. And congratulations to your dog on the puppies. Go ahead and take your seat, we’re on page 105.” Although his gaze begins to lower to the open copy in his hand, Mr. Scott seems to pause for a second, then does a double take Beca’s way. “Oh, Beca, I’m very sorry. Do you have a copy of The Scarlet Letter?”

“Um, not with me, Mr. Scott,” Beca admits almost sheepishly. Again, she feels wandering eyes scrutinizingly bore into her, but makes a point of not looking back.

“That’s okay, she can share mine,” the new addition announces in a chipper tone, plopping casually down into her seat.

“Thank you, Chloe,” Mr. Scott nods, before turning his attention back to the text in front of him, then quickly dives back into his previously interrupted question.

Although Beca is trying to listen, trying to remain present and involved in the class in which she feels like a total and complete outsider, her focus is soon pulled by the soft sound of a welcoming, quiet voice, and Beca’s head turns in time for her eyes to land on what is positively the most stunning, most captivating shade of blue she has ever seen.

“Hi, are you new?” Chloe whispers as she slips her book from the backpack now resting by her feet, fortunately quietly enough that she doesn’t draw Mr. Scott’s attention, though loudly enough for Beca to hear.

“Uh, yeah,” Beca whispers back, suddenly hyper aware of an uncomfortable level of heat rising toward her pale cheeks. Hastily, she tears her embarrassingly wide stare from Chloe’s eyes, and awkwardly clears her now very dry throat in the process. “Um, but you don’t have to share your book with me. I’ve read it, I think I know what’s going on.”

“No, that’s okay,” Chloe whispers in such a breezy tone that Beca almost doesn’t believe her dog having babies excuse; how can anybody seem so cheerful running on what Beca can only assume is such a small amount of sleep? “It’s better when you can read along. Here.” She pauses, quickly flipping open the book, then scooting her chair away from her desk and closer toward Beca’s.

“Right,” Beca nods, forcing her eyes down onto the now open page. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

“Of course,” Chloe hums quietly, and Beca thinks that will be the end of their conversation. Apparently, however, Chloe has other ideas, and just as Beca manages to find the sentence Mr. Scott is currently reading aloud, Chloe cuts in with a whispered, “What’s your name?”

Although she casts a quick glance toward the teacher, just to check he is still preoccupied and they are not disturbing the class, Beca quietly responds, “Beca.”

“Beca,” Chloe echoes softly. “Pretty. I’m Chloe.”

In response, Beca offers Chloe a short nod of her head and a small, polite smile, but scared of finding herself creepily staring into a stranger’s eyes all over again—dude, they really are _so_ blue—she attempts to fix her attention on the book.

“Why’d you transfer schools so late?” Chloe asks, but before Beca gets the chance to respond, a clearing throat pulls both of them toward the front of the class.

“That’ll do, Chloe.”

“Sorry, Mr. Scott!”

* * *

All things considered, Chloe truly surprises herself with the way she manages so easily to stay so alert throughout all of her morning classes.

Bella’s imminent labor has been anticipated for days, so Chloe hasn’t been sleeping much in general, then when it properly started somewhere as late last night began to leak into early morning, she remained dutifully by her side, until all five puppies were born healthy and just as unfathomably adorable as their mother. Chloe likes to think it is good practice for her future veterinary career, helping with Bella’s labor, but mostly, she just wanted to be there for her dog.

She could’ve very well stayed home from school today, but as much as Chloe really did want to, something told her that missing a day would not be wise. Fortunately, Bella and the currently nameless puppies are in good hands with her vet tech mother, so despite the fact that Chloe had kind of dragged her feet when it came to getting ready for school this morning, she’d made it to class only slightly late for first period, and she has managed to maintain her regular, chipper energy the whole morning since.

By lunchtime, however, Chloe is decidedly beginning to lose her steam.

“Earth to Chloe?” Ashley prompts with a gentle nudge of her elbow. “You’re kind of holding up the whole lunch line.”

Jerking back to consciousness, Chloe hurriedly steps to the right, effectively freeing up a little space. “Sorry!” Quickly, she shakes her head, trying to pull forward a little energy. “I don’t know how I’m even standing right now, I barely got any sleep last night.”

“Yeah, you should’ve just taken a sick day or something,” Ashley frowns, balancing her newly filled tray in both hands. “Why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know,” Chloe shrugs, adding a fresh bottle of icy water to her own tray. “I was going to. I just felt like something was...I don’t know, telling me to come to school. Like I’d miss something big if I didn’t, you know?”

As she glances toward her friends, Chloe is met with a series of lifted brows and incredulous expressions.

“I would’ve just taken the sick day,” Stacie shrugs simply, bumping by Chloe in pursuit of their regular lunch table.

Chloe only hums quietly to herself, before turning with her tray clutched carefully in both hands to dutifully follow along behind her friends. She pauses, however, as her sleepy yet wandering gaze lands on the sight of her new English class desk neighbor, awkwardly hovering alone.

“You guys, we should invite Beca to sit with us,” Chloe says through something of a sad smile.

“Who’s Beca?” Aubrey, pausing at the same time as Chloe does, questions in confusion.

“Beca,” Chloe repeats, motioning toward the lone new girl. “I don’t think she has anybody to sit with.”

Chloe lifts her gaze to see the sight of her friends exchanging knowing glances, and responds with tightly knitted brows. “What?”

“She’s really weird,” Ashley says, since nobody else seems to be speaking up. “That eyeliner…”

“Yeah,” Stacie chimes in, “She was looking at you like she wanted to take your clothes off in class this morning.”

“What?” Chloe repeats a little more firmly this time. Auburn brows remain in their same furrowed position, and she shoots her friends a somewhat testy look. “No, she wasn’t. And so what if she was? Are you saying you have a problem with the possibility of her being gay?”

At that, multiple expressions fall. Cynthia-Rose, the only openly gay member of the group, purses her lips, and Chloe notes the way her gaze begins to flicker toward the other girls, almost like she is nervously awaiting their response, too.

Cynthia-Rose’s recent coming out had been positively received by everybody in their friend group. Chloe, the daughter of two bisexual women and quietly questioning her own sexuality as of late herself, had been especially encouraging, though the subject has remained largely hushed since.

“That’s what I thought,” Chloe says with a hint of indignance. “Beca’s new, she probably doesn’t know anybody. I’m going to ask her if she wants to sit with us.”

Rather than wait for further protest, Chloe proceeds to straighten her shoulders, and easily breaks away from the group. She hears quiet chatter coming from the girls as they stalk off to their table, though she doesn’t know nor care what they’re saying, and by the time she has approached Beca, there is a wide smile set on her lips.

“Hey, do you want to come and sit with us?” Chloe asks brightly, her question met with a look of something akin to genuine surprise.

“Oh… What, me?” Beca questions, despite the fact that they are the only two in their close vicinity. Her voice is a little squeaky, as if Chloe has somehow caught her entirely off guard.

Chloe bites back the quiet chuckle that attempts to puff free in response, though she knows the amusement is written all over her face. “Who else would I be talking to?”

“Right,” Beca says with a small, awkward laugh of her own. “Uh, I mean…”

“Come sit with us,” Chloe presses, twisting to motion toward the large, rectangular table, where the rest of the girls have taken their seats, and are quietly watching the interaction, though they all quickly lower their heads as Chloe’s eyes fall on them. She turns back to see Beca glancing over her shoulder, a certain amount of apprehension in her stare.

“No, it’s okay,” she says with a quick shake of her head. “Your table looks pretty full.”

In turn, Chloe’s lips press into a thin line, and she takes in the nervous expression on Beca’s face. She gets the sense that Beca is definitely pretty shy, and that the thought of diving into a large, established friend group such as Chloe’s is probably a little intimidating for her. The last thing Chloe wants is to push her from her comfort zone, especially on her first day, so she relents with a soft shrug of her shoulder.

“Okay, then I’ll sit with you,” she offers instead, though she doesn’t give Beca much of a chance to respond, before she has already begun to step toward the nearest free table. “Over here?”

“What? No, you don’t have to do—”

Beca’s protests fall flat, because Chloe has already begun to shuffle into the nearest seat at the smaller, circular table, and she takes note of the way Beca’s exterior seems to soften some with the small, bashful smile on her lips, before she follows dutifully along.

“You really don’t have to sit with me,” Beca insists as she slips into the seat across from Chloe, resting her tray down on the clean white tabletop. In spite of herself, there is much less conviction to her voice, and Chloe notices something of an appreciative look on her face as she lifts a hand to tuck a chunk of long brunette hair behind her ear to reveal two small lobe piercings, and another stud up at the top.

Ignoring the statement, Chloe picks up her plastic fork to begin digging into her food. “I like your makeup,” she says sincerely, offering Beca a warm smile. “And your earrings, too. Did they hurt?”

Strangely, Beca seems to bristle slightly at the compliment, and makes a point of quickly covering her ear over again. Chloe doesn’t push, though, she just pops a bite of food into her mouth, and waits patiently for Beca’s response.

“Thanks,” Beca finally says, eyes down on her food, though she lifts them to focus better on Chloe. “Uh, lobes not so much. The helix one was pretty painful, though. It took a while to heal.” She pauses to quietly study Chloe for a moment. “You have lobe piercings.”

“I do,” Chloe nods, swallowing the mouthful of food. “But I got them pierced when I was pretty young, I don’t really remember if it hurt or not. I just remember begging my moms to let me get them pierced, then they took me out for ice cream after. It was a good day.”

Normally, when Chloe mentions her parents around new people, they generally ask her to repeat herself, or they at least pause, as if they couldn’t possibly have heard the plural correctly. She takes note of the way Beca doesn’t do that, though. Instead, she just grins at the story, and Chloe flashes her the same expression in return.

“So, are you totally new to town?” Chloe questions, lifting another forkful of food toward her mouth. “It must be weird transfering schools in the middle of the semester, huh?”

Beca’s nose wrinkles at that, and she glances down at the sandwich she is currently tearing the corner off of. “Yeah, it kind of sucks,” she admits dryly. She doesn’t offer much more than that, though, and despite the expectant way Chloe watches her, she decides not to push.

“I guess you don’t really know anybody around here then?” she asks instead.

“Nope,” Beca shakes her head, lifting the broken piece of sandwich to her mouth. “Brand new.”

“Yikes,” Chloe frowns, swallowing the current bite. She barely pauses before asking, “Do you want my number?”

Beca’s curious gaze lifts then, so Chloe offers her an encouraging smile.

“Um, okay,” Beca says after a brief moment of quiet thought. “I’m really not that fun, though.”

Chloe only chuckles lightly in response. “I think you are,” she says, before stretching out her fingers to grasp for the cellphone she cannot see. “Can I see your phone?”

As Beca twists in her seat to reach for her large backpack, Chloe makes no attempt to not watch her. She studies the way Beca’s partially curled hair flows over her shoulders, takes note of the black nail polish clearly applied some time recently, and Chloe doesn’t bother to tear her contented gaze away, even as Beca sits upright again to hand over her newly retrieved, unlocked phone.

“Thank you,” Chloe begins, though she pauses to scan over the wallpaper with wide, excited eyes. “Oh, is this your dog?”

“Oh, yeah,” Beca nods, “He’s pretty cute, huh?”

“He’s _very_ cute,” Chloe agrees brightly, studying the photo a moment longer, before tapping through to Beca’s contacts. “What’s his name?”

“Gunner,” Beca responds with a small chuckle—likely directed at Chloe’s enthusiasm—as Chloe begins to tap her number onto the screen. “He’s my buddy.”

“Ah, see, so you already have two friends around here,” Chloe states with a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. She saves her number with her favorite sunflower emoji beside her name, then taps through to the contact picture, before pulling up the camera and holding the phone up in front of her.

“I do?” Beca questions curiously, though Chloe can see the smirk stretching onto her lips from the corner of her eye as she snaps a quick picture of herself.

“Mhm,” Chloe nods, quickly saving the information, then immediately hitting call, before holding the phone back out toward Beca. “Me and Gunner.”

“Right,” Beca chuckles a little more sincerely this time. Chloe can feel her eyes on her as she unzips her own backpack to pull out her phone, the screen lighting up with Beca’s unsaved number.

It is kind of nice, Chloe thinks, the idea that Beca might be loosening up a bit already. So far, she really isn’t the most talkative, but there is just _something_ about the new girl, something that Chloe finds incredibly intriguing, and she finds that she is genuinely excited to get to know her better.

“Can I take your picture?” Chloe asks as she rejects the incoming call and quickly begins to tap out Beca’s contact details.

“Uh, what?” Beca questions, evidently somewhat startled by the request.

“For your contact,” Chloe explains, already pulling up the camera application. “All of my contacts have pictures and emojis. Is that okay? If yours does, too?”

While Beca pulls in her bottom lip between her teeth, perhaps thinking over the request for a moment, she eventually nods her head. “Um, yeah. Okay, sure.” Instinctively, she lifts a hand to run her fingers through her curls. “I hate getting my picture taken.”

“It’s just for me,” Chloe promises, holding up the phone to position Beca in the frame. She watches the way Beca’s gaze awkwardly flickers away.

“Do I smile?” she tenses a bit, nervous chuckle puffing from her nostrils.

“Yes,” Chloe nods, head tilting as she studies Beca through the camera preview. She pauses for a moment, lips twisting in silent thought, before she stretches an arm around the phone and toward Beca’s hair. Beca watches her, but doesn’t verbally question her, and soon Chloe is delicately tucking the same chunk of hair from before behind Beca’s ear. “I like the piercings,” Chloe explains in a softer voice, pulling her arm back to see the bashful look on Beca’s reddening face. “Ready?”

Beca only nods, before shooting a somewhat nervous half-smile toward the camera. Chloe snaps the picture quickly, not wanting to prolong Beca’s obvious discomfort, then responds with a contented smile of her own as she studies the image. “Perfect.”

* * *

School days always seem to drag on for an uncomfortable length of time in general, but thanks to the anxiety of a whole new place, today has felt particularly long to Beca. The only positive is that it is Friday, something Beca had considered stupid when she’d first found out it would be her first day at Barden High, but that she is incredibly grateful for now. At least she has the weekend, this one at her father’s house, to mope and shoot disgusted looks toward him and his new girlfriend on the rare occasion she emerges from her attic bedroom.

Deflecting with short, one-word responses to both Warren and Sheila’s enthusiastic questions about her first day over dinner, Beca had hurried through her meal, then disappeared to the solace of her own space, where she intends to remain, preferably uninterrupted, for the rest of the night.

Although she receives a few text messages from friends telling her they miss her, it is largely an evening of solitude, but Beca doesn’t mind that. She finds her own company easy enough to tolerate, especially because her music always sees to it that she is never _truly_ alone.

Padded cups of her black Beats headphones—a not so subtle ‘divorce appeasement’ gift from her father—settled comfortably over her ears, Beca is relaxed back into her large computer chair, eyes closing as she loses herself in her newest mashup attempt, when the sound of a new iMessage pings over the music. Rather than force herself back up from her slumped position, Beca idly reaches for her phone, pulling it into her lap and tapping the screen.

**Chloe** 🌻  
 _wanna see something cute?_

While Beca’s brow inches upward slightly, she cannot help the soft pull of her lips, the way the corner curls in response to the sunflower emoji beside Chloe’s name. To be totally honest, she hadn’t expected to hear from her; Chloe is decidedly a nice person, and Beca had enjoyed her company at lunch today, but she had assumed Chloe was simply humoring her. The thought that she actually cares to talk to her now, outside of school, makes Beca’s stomach pull in a strange, though not uncomfortable, way.

**Beca  
** _sure_

Not two seconds later, a stream of five images filter in: three are pictures of a litter of puppies—Beca thinks she counts five of them in total—one, a picture of a golden retriever curled protectively around the puppies, and the last a picture of Chloe, hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and bright grin on her lips as she carefully holds one puppy in each gloved hand.

**Chloe** 🌻  
 _puppies!!_

Beca doesn’t quite understand why her teeth sink into her bottom lip as she studies the pictures, and the simple text to follow. She does notice, however, that she focuses a little more intently on the last image.

**Beca  
** _i see that  
_ _so your dog really did have puppies, huh?_

**Chloe** 🌻  
 _she did!  
_ _wait, you thought i was lying??_

Despite the fact that Chloe cannot see her, Beca finds herself sucking in her cheeks.

**Beca  
** _i don’t know_

**Chloe** 🌻  
 _pfft. i do not lie. especially when it comes to adorable babies_

_they really are ad—_ Beca begins to respond, though her phone soon vibrates in her hand, and she pauses momentarily as she notices the incoming call, brows automatically lifting in curious reaction.

Beca hates phone calls. In fact, if she were to make a list of the top ten things she dislikes, talking on the phone would be very close to the top—right below her father’s new girlfriend. However, she finds that she sits slowly upward as she reads over Chloe’s name, hand stretching outward to pause her music with a pointed finger, and although a part of her definitely does consider hitting reject, something else stops her. Lifting a hand to tug off her headphones, her thumb sweeps over the green button, before Beca is thoughtlessly pressing the phone to her ear.

“Uh, hey,” Beca greets as coolly as she can manage, although she knows there is a definite hint of confusion in her tone. “What’s up?”

“I can’t believe you thought I was lying,” Chloe’s melodic giggle rings through the phone, and Beca finds herself sitting up straighter in response, headphones settled down carefully on her desk before her. “Why would you even think that?”

“I don’t know,” Beca says with a small shrug. She can feel her cheeks beginning to grow hot—of course she has managed to piss off the one and only person to have been nice to her at Barden High. “I mean, you were in a really good mood. I wouldn’t have even been making complete sentences if I’d been up all night like that.”

“Mm,” Chloe hums lightly in response. Beca hears a small creak, like that of a mattress moving, in the background. “I guess I’m just a morning person. What are you doing?”

The sense of whiplash from the changing conversation topic halts Beca only briefly, before she begins to easily rise from her seat. It is almost instinct for her to shuffle toward her single bed, where Beca plops down on the edge of the mattress. “Um, nothing. Just hanging out at home.” She pauses, backtracking. “Uh, at my dad’s, I mean.”

“Your dad’s home isn’t also your home?” Chloe questions, and Beca hears her shuffling, as if she is trying to get comfortable. Beca cannot help but follow suit, until she is grabbing the pillows to stack against the headboard, then casually leaning back against them.

“No. I mean, yeah, I guess it is… I don’t know, things are just weird right now,” she admits, almost a little too easily really.

Beca doesn’t like to talk about her homelife—it is not like there is any wild, extravagant story there; her parents’ divorce is just a sore subject for her, that’s all—so when Chloe curiously asks, “Why’s that?”, Beca only responds with a brief shrug of her shoulder, despite the fact that she cannot see her. It seems that the lacking response is enough for Chloe, though.

“Well, let’s get you out of there, then,” Chloe hums softly, and Beca responds with tightly knitted brows.

“What, now? Isn’t it, like…” she pauses to pull her phone from her ear, to quickly check the time. “It’s almost ten.”

“No,” Chloe responds with a fond giggle. “Not now. What about tomorrow, what are you doing then?”

“Oh…” A part of Beca wants to make something up, to at least _sound_ like she has a life of some kind. However, she has never been the best liar, so she comes up short, and instead responds with a clear of her throat and a nonchalant, “Um, nothing. What are you doing?”

“Trying to make plans with you,” Chloe says brightly. “Do you like ice skating?”

“Ice skating?” Beca echoes with a blank look on her face. The very idea helps her to overlook the first part of Chloe’s statement—a good thing really, considering Beca is sure she would choke in response. “Dude, I’m lucky if I don’t fall over my own feet just walking around as normal… You want me on ice?”

Chloe’s breathy chuckle sounds through the phone again, and Beca cannot help but wonder what it must be like, to be so openly breezy as Chloe seems to be. Beca is much more withdrawn; they truly are very much opposites. “Okay, maybe not ice skating then. Do you want to hang out with me tomorrow, though? I’ll find us something to do.”

“I…” Beca pauses briefly, head gently tilting to the side, and she continues before she can even stop herself. “Really? You wanna hang out with me?”

“Um, yeah?” Chloe states, though it is more a bewildered question than a statement, almost like she doesn’t understand Beca’s apparent disbelief. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Beca sinks back into the pillows a bit, heat once again rising to her cheeks. She wonders why she can’t just be _normal_ , accept that someone actually wants to spend time with her. “Um, I don’t know,” she finally responds, teeth nibbling onto the inside of her cheek.

“Exactly,” Chloe says, breezy tone returning to her voice. Beca can picture the way she nods her head in confirmation. “So, do you want to?”

Realizing quickly that she hasn’t yet given Chloe a real response, Beca does so perhaps a little too eagerly. “Yeah. Yeah, I do,” she says, and she can practically hear the grin in Chloe’s voice as she responds.

“Awes! I’m going with my moms to buy some new stuff for the puppies at some point, but I have a car, I can come by and pick you up afterwards. Text me your address?”

Considering she doesn’t yet have her license—she has her permit, she’s totally working on the full license—Beca cannot help but be impressed by Chloe’s apparent ability to drive. The very idea causes a small smile to rise to her lips, but for some reason, Beca makes sure to quickly bite it back. “Yeah, okay. Um, I’m pretty much free all day, so whenever is fine.”

“Okay,” Chloe says brightly. “I’m gonna go check on the puppies, so I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Beca nods, legs stretching out onto the mattress in front of her. “Alright. See you tomorrow, then.”

Chloe’s quick _bye!_ precedes a quiet, contented hum, before the line goes dead, and Beca doesn’t quite understand the strange elation to wash over her in response. She is sure it is just because Chloe is really nice, and that she hadn’t expected to make a friend so quickly, especially not one as pretty and genuinely vibrant as Chloe, but she makes a point not to question it.

She has barely had the chance to set down her phone before a new text comes through.

**Chloe** 🌻  
 _your phone voice is cute  
address?_

At that, Beca’s cheeks darken at least ten shades of red.


	2. saturday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe gets to know the new girl a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs from the truck: [Confident](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9oumWxQ3C0) \+ [Leave The Night On](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfdpIb9u318).

Admittedly, it is kind of difficult for Beca to properly read Chloe Beale—and, as something of a people-watcher, that is an issue in and of itself.

Beca knows that Chloe is pretty… Man, she’s _really_ freaking pretty, in fact. She also knows that she is kind, that even though they have had only a small handful of interactions thus far, Chloe truly does strike her as a genuinely nice, _good_ person. But that all feels like surface level stuff, stuff that anybody with functioning eyes could see.

What truly confuses Beca about Chloe, what has her so spun out over something that really should be much more insignificant, is why on earth she so adamantly wants to spend time with her. It is evident that Chloe has a lot of friends, Beca had seen her with them just yesterday, so why would she want to hang out with the boring new girl? And then there was Chloe’s text…

_Your phone voice is cute._

The message, while brief and simple in hindsight, had pulled a strange feeling of sheer warmth, a distinct flutter, to Beca’s heart upon first receipt, and each time Beca has scanned back over it since, it seems to have only warmed her further.

And Beca knows that she shouldn’t read into it, that it is simply a friendly, offhanded comment… Or at least Beca thinks that is what it is. But then she is reminded of the gentle brush of Chloe’s hand, the way she had so delicately pushed her hair behind her ear at the lunch table yesterday, and Beca had had to try so hard not to tilt her face into the comfort of Chloe’s small yet tender touch. Then, Beca cannot help but wonder if maybe it means something a little bit more.

Regardless, she tries her hardest not to dwell too deeply, though Beca finds as she begins to get ready for her outing with Chloe that she consciously puts a little more pressure on herself to at least look some variation of decent than she usually would.

Despite multiple outfit changes, Beca eventually settles on a clean pair of black leggings, a casual gray shirt and a neutral colored open flannel that she wears over the top. The weather really isn’t great today, being the middle of a rainy January and all, but Beca opts against her large, padded winter coat, and instead shrugs on her trusty leather jacket—it just makes her feel prettier somehow, and while Beca doesn’t understand exactly why, she does know she wants to look pretty for Chloe.

Maybe, Beca realizes, she wants Chloe to find her pretty, too, the same way Beca does with Chloe in return.

Knowing that she’ll likely have a million obnoxious questions to field, and that he will ultimately make Beca’s outing with Chloe today feel like a playdate, Beca doesn’t even plan to tell her father where she is going—not that she even knows herself, but still. When she receives Chloe’s text that she is on her way, Beca decides she will simply slip out of the door when she sees the car pulling up, and call out to him that she’s leaving on the way.

Of course, almost unsurprisingly, it seems that Chloe has other ideas.

Beca doesn’t even get the chance to pull on her shoes before a loud thrum of knocking sounds at the door, with Warren appearing as if by magic to greet their guest.

“Dad, no, that’s my—” Beca starts somewhat defeatedly, though the door has swung open before she even gets the opportunity to finish her protest, and Beca sucks in a breath through her nose as she catches a glimpse of curled red hair and a bright, pearly grin.

“Hi! Mr…” Chloe falters for a moment.

“Mitchell,” Warren clarifies with a welcoming smile.

“Right, Mr. Mitchell,” Chloe says, continuing just as brightly. “I’m Chloe Beale, I’m here to pick up Beca.” She pauses then to glance by Warren, and greets Beca with a small, fast wave.

“I was like, right here, Dad. I could’ve gotten the door,” Beca grumbles, pushing past him to make her quick exit from his home.

“I didn’t know you were going out,” Warren says with a confused look on his face, though Beca notes his easy smile all the same. “It’s nice to meet you, Chloe. Where are you girls going?”

“We’re gonna go roller skating,” Chloe announces proudly.

“Roller skating?” both Beca and Warren echo at the same time. While his tone is laced with amusement, Beca’s is notably much more dubious.

Beca’s cheeks heat up instantly, but Warren responds with an amused chuckle. “Beca... Roller skating?” He pauses to stare between both Beca and Chloe, as if waiting for one of them to drop a _sike!_ before continuing with an arched brow. “Well, okay. Will you be back for dinner?”

“No,” Chloe responds before Beca gets the chance to. “It’s okay, though. We’re gonna get something to eat while we’re out. Are you ready, Beca?”

“Yeah,” Beca says quickly, now very much desperate to get away from the house.

Fortunately, Beca’s hasty exit is hint enough to Warren to step back, so after a quick goodbye, something Chloe reciprocates pleasantly, while Beca only grumbles, he eventually closes the door, and Beca is free to finally breathe.

“Sorry about him,” Beca says in something of a bashful tone, finally lifting her gaze toward Chloe.

Chloe is wearing blue jeans paired with a floaty white shirt that she has casually tucked into the front. Her currently unfastened leather jacket is not too dissimilar to Beca’s; clearly, neither had dressed with the rain in mind, but it seems to have stopped now, and simply adds a light shine to the hard surface of the dark road.

“Why?” Chloe questions with knitted brows. It is upon looking at her face that Beca notices her subtle makeup, thin coat of mascara only causing the blue color of her eyes to pop further. “He seems nice.”

Beca only rolls her eyes in response, though she lets out a small chuckle all the same. “I think maybe you’re just too nice.”

“Maybe,” Chloe hums, pausing at the side of a slightly beat up looking dark green truck.

“This is yours?” Beca asks with a hint of mild surprise. There is nothing _wrong_ with it, of course. In actuality, Beca thinks it’s pretty damn cool, but it is not the vehicle she imagined Chloe driving.

“She sure is,” Chloe beams, proudly tapping against the passenger door, before reaching down toward the handle to tug it open. “Mom and I fixed her up. It was a really cool project.”

Although Beca expects her to leave, to rush around to the driver’s side and hop in herself, she doesn’t. Instead, she stands with her hand on the open passenger door, and flashes Beca a bright smile. “Are you getting in?”

It is only at that point that Beca realizes she is staring—partially at the truck, and partially at Chloe. She clears her throat quickly, though, pulling herself back to the present. “Yeah, sorry,” she says, hastily stepping up to climb into the seat. She doesn’t expect Chloe to literally wait and close the door for her, but she does, and for some reason, Beca feels her cheeks heating up once again in response.

While Beca gets herself situated, Chloe bounces to the passenger side, quickly climbing in and immediately buckling up. “So, what’d you do today?” Chloe questions conversationally, waiting for the snap of Beca’s belt into the holder, before eventually starting up the engine.

“Uh, not much,” Beca admits lamely, gaze dropping to the aux cord fixed into the display. Chloe picks it up to plug in her phone. “What about you, did you get everything you needed for the puppies?”

It is strange to Beca, just how easy it is to feel comfortable around Chloe. Normally, it takes her a long time to warm up to new people, but not Chloe. Perhaps it is her approachable personality, or maybe it is something else, Beca doesn’t know. She does know, however, that she doesn’t feel _too_ awkward as she relaxes into the passenger seat, unintentionally studying the way Chloe’s fingers, nails painted a deep purple color, wrap around the wheel.

“We did,” she says as she smoothly pulls the truck into drive. “We already had everything we needed for them, we just wanted to get some more stuff to spoil them with. And Bella. We don’t want her to feel like she’s less important now that her babies are here.” Chloe pauses for a moment, pout jutting onto her lightly glossed lips. “I’m sad I didn’t get to meet Gunner. Normally, when people come to the door at my house, Bella rushes right there to greet them.”

“Oh, yeah,” Beca frowns, “So does Gunner. He’s on a walk with Sheila.” She doesn’t mean for the way she stiffens slightly at the very mention of Sheila’s name passing through her lips, and she doesn’t know whether Chloe notices it or not, but it doesn’t seem to deter her.

“Who’s Sheila?” Chloe questions, again in a conversational tone. Beca, essentially music-driven in general, doesn’t even notice the lacking sound around them, despite Chloe’s phone being plugged into the cord, not until Chloe prompts her. “You can put on some music if you want, I have my Spotify pulled up. The passcode is 0922.”

Beca pauses at that, penciled brows tugging tightly. “Dude, that’s so weird. That’s my birthday.”

“Is it?” Chloe questions with a melodic chuckle. “September 22nd? You and my dog share a birthday.”

It is of course just a happy coincidence, but something in Beca warms as she reaches for the phone. She opts to ignore the question about Sheila, but Chloe doesn’t seem to push, and for that Beca is truly grateful. “What are you listening to?”

“I don’t know,” Chloe shrugs nonchalantly, eyes trained carefully on the road, though she glances briefly toward the phone in Beca’s hand. “I don’t remember what was playing when I got out before.”

Curiously, Beca taps on the play button, and hears the familiar beat before she sees the title. She cannot help but snort slightly in immediate reaction.

“You don’t like Demi Lovato?” Chloe questions, again glancing briefly toward her, but she fixes her eyes on the road again quickly.

“No, it’s not that,” Beca promises, amusement lacing her tone as she reads over the song title, _Confident_. “Just feels very fitting for you.”

“You know this song is about sex, right?” Chloe deadpans, though despite her tone, Beca can see the small smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Apparently, the fact that she doesn’t respond right away has Chloe proving her point with a perfectly vocalized, _“It’s time for me to take it, I’m the boss right now, not gonna fake it, not when you go down…”_

In response, Beca’s eyes only widen—partially because she has just learned that Chloe’s giggle is not the only melodic sound she makes, and partially in sheer embarrassment. “No, no,” she quickly backtracks, “I just meant, like, the title! Confident. You seem very confident.”

She notes the devilish grin breaking onto Chloe’s face. “I know you did,” she says through a quiet chuckle. “I was just messing with you. I _am_ pretty confident.” There is something of a proud tone to her voice now, though it evens out again as she says with a shrug, “You’re not.”

Beca bites back a wince at the call out, setting the phone down in her lap and leaving the music to play quietly around them. “What gave you that idea?” she asks sarcastically.

“Just a guess,” Chloe responds, turning again to cast Beca a quick wink.

Yet again, Beca’s face reddens all over.

* * *

For some reason, when Chloe had announced that they would be going roller skating, Beca hadn’t actually believed her. She figured she was just teasing, considering Beca’s instant negative reaction to the very idea of ice skating, but as she switches out her trusty Vans for a clunky pair of rented roller skates, Beca finds that Chloe is very much serious.

“You remember what I said about falling when I’m just walking around, right?” Beca frowns, brow lifting as she tips her head to stare up at Chloe, who is already standing above her with her skates on and her hands planted on her hips, watching Beca with a look of subtle amusement.

“I do,” Chloe nods. “But you were worried about being on the ice, and I understand that. These things, though,” she pauses, bending her leg to tap at the four wheels, “are way steadier than blades. I think you’ll do just fine.”

“You have more faith in me than you should,” Beca grumbles loudly enough for Chloe to hear as she reaches down to finish fastening the straps in place as tightly as possible. Her head is ducked, gaze concentrated on the skates, so Beca notices Chloe’s shadow before anything else, though she lifts her head to meet Chloe’s kind eyes, and sees that she has lowered to crouch before her.

“You think I’d let you fall?” Chloe questions quietly, almost secretly even. There is a soft smirk drawn onto her lips, and she gently shakes her head, red curls dancing uniformly with the motion. “I wouldn’t.”

Unintentionally, Beca finds herself staring, though she doesn’t mean to. She doesn’t mean for her heart rate to quicken in the strange way it does either, but it does.

There are plenty of other people here—it is Saturday afternoon, and apparently this particular place is something of a hot spot for the area’s teens—but with Chloe crouched in front of her, face so close to her own, Beca somehow blocks out any other voices for a moment, almost like it really is just the two of them.

“I’m trusting you,” she murmurs, mostly to break the odd silence for herself, and Beca notes the grin to crack onto Chloe’s lips in response, before she is pressing her palms to Beca’s thighs and using the leverage to push herself back to her feet.

“I’m very trustworthy,” Chloe winks, stretching down a hand to help Beca upright, too.

Although Beca pauses for the briefest of moments, she eventually slips her hand into Chloe’s. As her legs straighten, Beca notes that she is a little wobbly, but she puts that solely down to the fact that there are literal wheels on her feet...nothing more.

“Good?” Chloe asks, slowly letting go of Beca’s hand, though her own hovers in place for a moment, almost as if she is ready to catch her if need be.

“I think so,” Beca nods, lifting her feet to pad cautiously toward the shiny wooden rink. She supposes she is doing better already than she would’ve been were they actually ice skating; she wouldn’t have even made it this far if that was the case.

Fortunately, the entrance to the rink isn’t too crowded, so while Chloe steps immediately onto it, Beca is able to take a moment to simply hover, making sure she really has her bearings. Apparently, Chloe notices her hesitance.

“I’m sorry,” Chloe says in a softer voice, lips pushing into a small pout. “We don’t have to do this, I just figured it was the ice you were afraid of. We can take these off and go play some arcade games, if you want?”

In all honesty, Beca had not noticed the fearful expression on her face, not until she sees the apologetic look on Chloe’s. She doesn’t know how to tell her it isn’t quite the skating part she is afraid of…

“No,” she finally says with a soft shake of her head, “No, it’s fine. I’m good. We just might have to…I don’t know, go kind of slow at first, that’s all.”

“Slow is okay,” Chloe nods in agreement, offering Beca a small yet somehow entirely encouraging smile. Unlike Beca, skeptical and outwardly nervous, Chloe shows no hesitation in the way she holds out her hand, urging Beca to take it with another gentle nod of her head.

This time, at least where touching Chloe’s hand is concerned, Beca doesn’t hesitate either. Instead, she slips her hand into Chloe’s, returning the small smile, before Chloe is tugging her onto the rink. Of course, Beca has no control of her eight new wheels just yet, so rather than attempt to steady herself, she winds up crashing directly into Chloe, whose free arm immediately wraps around her middle.

“I’ve got you,” Chloe chuckles quietly, waiting until she is sure Beca has steadied a little, before slowly lifting her arm from around her body. She either doesn’t notice the beet red to Beca’s cheeks, or she doesn’t point it out… And there is no way she can know how hard Beca’s heart has begun to race. “Good?”

Beca only nods, carefully stepping back from Chloe’s personal space, though their hands remain attached, and Chloe encourages Beca with another soft tug to her hand, this time to begin their—very slow—skating.

It is incredibly embarrassing, the way Beca somehow loses her footing a couple times within the first minute or so, but Chloe only clutches more tightly to her hand, effectively helping to steady her some.

“You didn’t answer my question yesterday,” Chloe says once they have found a (still very slow) rhythm, and while Beca is pretty busy with focusing on not falling over her skates, she chances a quick glance toward Chloe, her expression silently asking her to go on. “Why’d you transfer schools so late?”

“Oh, right…” Beca nods, lips pulling inward at the very subject. “Um, my parents got divorced,” she says, and Beca realizes it is one of the first times she has actually stated so out loud since it actually happened. To do so causes an uneasy feeling within her, but there is something very reassuring about the feeling of Chloe’s hand in her own, in the way she feels her fingers slipping through the small parts in hers, and somehow it is easier for Beca to feel safe, like she can actually talk about something she considers such a sore subject. “It’s not, like, a big deal or anything—”

“Yeah, it is,” Chloe cuts in, though her tone doesn’t come across as rude. If anything, Beca notes that her voice has softened a little bit, to something somehow even kinder, more reassuring. “You avoided the question yesterday, then you avoided the question about Sheila in the car today. I’m guessing she’s your step-mom?”

“No,” Beca responds quickly, nose wrinkling in utter disgust. “God, no. Not my step-mom. Just my dad’s new girlfriend.”

While Chloe chuckles softly, she also nods her head in understanding. “Okay, not your step-mom. It is a big deal to you though, Beca. And you know that that’s okay, right?” Beca glances to the side, to take in the soft, reassuring expression on Chloe’s face. “Divorce is a big thing, especially when it’s your parents. You don’t have to be okay with it.”

Beca wants to respond, she wants to challenge Chloe and adamantly insist that she really is fine. Deep down, however, she is not, she knows she is not, and somehow, it seems that Chloe knows it, too. Chloe is not like her other friends, the ones who simply agree with her to avoid an argument. Chloe just...she _gets_ it, and rather than falsely protest, Beca eventually responds with a small, sad smile, before gently nodding her head. Chloe returns the soft gesture.

“Um, what about you?” Beca asks, wanting to take the attention off of her own homelife. “Have you ever...you know, dealt with that?”

“No,” Chloe responds with a quick shake of her head. “My moms are…” she pauses momentarily, nose wrinkling at the mental image. “They’re kind of embarrassingly in love, actually.”

Most people, probably not wanting to rub in their happy family story, would likely have shrugged off the question, but not Chloe. It doesn’t upset Beca, though. If anything, the openness, the immediate honesty, it is something Beca truly appreciates, and rather than mourn her own shitty circumstances, she chuckles at the look on Chloe’s face. “That’s sweet.”

“Oh, no, totes. They’re super cute. I don’t know how they got it so right,” she shrugs a shoulder, “But they did. Mom was married before she and mama met, and that obviously didn’t work out. But then they found each other, and they had me, and I guess the rest is history.” She hums in pleasant thought. “I think you just know when you meet the person you’re supposed to be with, and they both met theirs.”

Beca doesn’t realize the way she is watching Chloe, she doesn’t notice the fact that she has not even had to glance down at her skates for the last little while. She doesn’t notice until Chloe’s gaze drifts toward her, auburn brow lifting just slightly.

“Bec?”

“Yeah?” she questions, the simple nickname pulling that now more familiar feeling of warmth within her.

“Did you know we’ve been going faster for a good couple minutes now, and you haven’t even almost tripped over once?”

While Beca’s brows tug briefly, she finally tears her stare from Chloe’s face to shift toward her feet, and a natural smile pulls at the corners of her mouth.

“I knew you’d be better at this than you thought you would,” Chloe grins, hand squeezing tightly onto Beca’s for a moment, before she eventually loosens her grasp. “Wanna try it on your own?”

Somewhat slowly, Chloe releases her hold, until Beca is left with an odd sense of emptiness where her hand previously rested. Regardless, she somehow manages to remain upright, even without the welcome crutch that is Chloe beside her, and Beca cannot help but feel kind of proud of herself for such a small achievement.

“See?” Chloe beams excitedly, hands clapping together in celebration. “You’re a natural.”

Beca doesn’t know if it is the praise that causes her teeth to sink into her bottom lip, a failed attempt to tug in her elated smile, or if it is something else entirely. She does know, however, that she misses the feeling of Chloe’s hand in her own, so before she gets the chance to talk herself out of it, Beca makes a momentary fist, before reaching out her hand to once more rest her fingers through the gaps in Chloe’s.

“Maybe,” she says in a smaller voice. “But I kind of liked it better before.”

This time, as her softened gaze lifts to meet Beca’s, it is Chloe’s turn to subtly blush.

* * *

Although there is something about Chloe Beale that has the easy ability to make Beca feel incredibly nervous, she finds that the longer they are together, the easier it is for her to open up. Chloe asks her about her friends, the ones from her old school, and Beca recalls fond stories that pull that musical sounding giggle from Chloe’s lips in return. Chloe talks fondly about her dog, Bella, and the five puppies they are still trying to figure out temporary names for. Apparently, her moms are insistent that they will not be keeping the puppies for themselves, but Chloe is already adamant that she will be keeping one. Beca has a feeling Chloe will be very hard for them to say no to.

It is easy to converse with Chloe, for them not to trail off into any awkward silences. Chloe is just...she’s so _easy_ to be around, so much like home, and Beca kind of hates herself for thinking as such, but it’s the truth. Beca doesn’t feel like she is hanging out with somebody who was a stranger to her only two days prior; she feels like Chloe is somebody she has known for a long time, but that she still wants to know more of. Way more, in fact.

Over pizza, Beca tells Chloe about her mashups, and how someday she really wants to produce music, but that her dad always manages to somehow shoot her down every time she so much as mentions it. Chloe doesn’t seem to think it’s as stupid a dream as he does, though. In fact, she listens to Beca with bright, excited eyes, and even asks if she can hear some of her stuff soon. Beca is very private with her music, at least right now, but she finds it easy to relent with Chloe, and promises that she can. She learns that Chloe’s mom is a vet, and that Chloe wants to be one, too. Beca thinks it is probably a very fitting career for Chloe; she can tell already just how gentle and caring she is.

Chloe’s more competitive side comes out when they move onto arcade games, though, and when Beca beats her for the second time in a row at air hockey, she cannot help but openly chuckle at Chloe’s reaction.

“No! _How_ are you so good at this?” Chloe yelps, stretching across the table in a failed attempt to grasp the puck with her fingers.

“Just am,” Beca responds with a smug grin and a gentle shrug of her shoulder, and she finds that she melts beneath the playful scowl Chloe shoots her way.

“I really think we need to get out of here before you completely destroy my pride,” Chloe giggles, straightening to delicately comb her fingers through her falling curls.

Although the very idea of leaving causes a strong tug in Beca’s heart, she also knows it is getting late, and she doesn’t want to look like a total loser, begging Chloe to continue spending time with her. “Mm, maybe you’re right, I’d hate to make you cry,” she teases, carefully placing her striker down onto the table.

“Oh, trust me, you would hate that,” Chloe says, motioning with her head for Beca to follow along. “I have the saddest crying face.”

“You know, I really don’t doubt that,” Beca says with a lifted brow, rounding the table to meet Chloe’s side.

Although their simple leather jackets had been fine on the way in here, the moment they reach the exit to the building, Beca’s expression falls to a frown. “Man, I was really hoping this would hold off,” she mutters, instinctively tugging her jacket more tightly around her torso.

“You don’t like the rain?” Chloe questions, casually stepping out and directly into the chilly evening shower without so much as a second thought.

“Let me guess,” Beca grumbles sarcastically, begrudgingly following along, “You do?”

“I do,” Chloe nods, twirling on the spot as she begins to lead the way to her truck. She tips her head back, tongue poking out to catch a few droplets. “It’s refreshing. I especially like it at night time, when you can hear it against the window when you’re going to sleep. Don’t you think that’s such a soothing sound?”

“I don’t know if that’s how I’d describe it,” Beca responds, though she cannot help but quietly chuckle at how adorably carefree Chloe is as she twirls gracefully through the parking lot.

“Then how would you describe it?” Chloe questions, pausing once she reaches the truck. Just like last time, she goes to the passenger side first, unlocking the vehicle and quickly tugging open the door. Lowering into a bow, she motions for Beca to climb in. “For you, m’lady.”

“Did they spike your soda or something?” Beca giggles as she watches Chloe with a lifted brow, though she playfully dips into a curtsy in response.

“Nope,” Chloe grins, straightening to close the door once Beca has climbed in. “Guess I’m just an evening person, too.”

“You’re certainly something,” Beca chuckles as she clips her seatbelt into the holder, settling back comfortably into the seat. She notes the way she is watching Chloe through the windshield as she hurries to the driver’s side, and Beca doesn’t feel the need to stop herself.

Unlike last time—it is strange to think that it was only a matter of hours ago—Beca is not overcome with nerves as they begin their journey. In fact, there is an overwhelming sense of calmness washing throughout her, and as Beca glances toward the window, a part of her can almost see the appeal of the rain.

“Think you’ll go roller skating again?” Chloe asks conversationally, easily pulling Beca’s focus.

Instinctively, she turns her head to settle her comfortable gaze on Chloe, and Beca responds with a small shrug. “I don’t know, maybe. I mean, it wouldn’t have been my first choice of activity, but I guess it turned out to be pretty fun.”

“Especially when you held my hand,” Chloe adds, and Beca notices the unmistakable smirk tugging at her lips.

An instant rush of heat surges to Beca’s cheeks, but it is fortunately too dark for Chloe to see it, even if she wasn’t staring so intently at the road. “Don’t call me out like that,” Beca chuckles softly, though she doesn’t turn away from Chloe. Instead, she finds herself watching her, studying her. She takes in the small pout to Chloe’s lips, the soft curve of her nose, and Beca doesn’t quite understand why she is focusing so hard on such small details, but she just...is.

“So I shouldn’t call you out for staring now, right?” Chloe grins. She isn’t even looking Beca’s way, but apparently she can see her from the corner of her eye, and Beca instantly bristles at yet another obvious call out.

“Dude,” she whines petulantly, sinking lower into her seat.

They have pulled up at a red light, but Chloe keeps her eyes on the road, and Beca watches her as she coolly lifts her hands from the wheel to run her fingers through her ginger locks. “Don’t worry, Bec. If I wasn’t driving, I’d be staring at you, too.”

Although she immediately pulls her gaze away, Beca’s expression doesn’t fall. If anything, her bashful smile only widens further, teeth gently sinking down into her bottom lip in a failed attempt to rein it in.

Beca wonders how obvious it is to Chloe, the fact that she cannot help but want her. She wonders if it has been obvious all along, in fact.

In the interest of not so openly staring at Chloe—and risking yet another call out—Beca turns her attention back to the window, watching the way the falling raindrops trickle down the glass. She hasn’t really been paying much mind to the music so far, but Beca catches herself quietly singing along with the current song only when Chloe points it out.

“You’re a really good singer,” Chloe comments through a breezy hum, and Beca is quickly pulled from her own private bubble. “You like Sam Hunt better than Demi, huh?”

“Oh,” Beca blushes in response, turning her head to glance Chloe’s way. “Thanks. Yeah, I guess some of his stuff is cool. Do you know Leave The Night On?”

“I do,” Chloe nods, motioning toward her phone. “It’s on this playlist. Put it on, if you want.”

Beca has already reached for the phone, and quickly scrolls to the correct song, tapping it to play. This time, as the music starts up, Chloe begins to sing, too. Despite herself, Beca cannot quite resist joining in.

With each new line, the volume of their voices rises, until they are practically screaming along with the lyrics, and Beca giggles in the same light way Chloe does at the sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing.

This time, as the truck slows down, Beca notices that they are nowhere near a traffic light, so her brows tug slightly as Chloe rolls the vehicle to a stop at the side of the road. “What are you doing?” she questions in confusion, sitting a little straighter as Chloe reaches to unclip both of their seatbelts.

“Appreciating the rain,” Chloe hums, restarting the song and twisting the dial to turn up the volume, before opening up the driver’s side door. “Come on.”

“What?” Beca hisses, though Chloe has already hopped out of the car, and something inside Beca tells her she has to follow. “Dude, it’s freezing!”

Rather than respond, Chloe has once again begun to sing along with the music, and while Beca thinks she is apparently totally crazy right now, she cannot help the way she chuckles as Chloe begins to twirl through the pouring rain, making her way toward her.

“Then dance, it’ll warm you up,” Chloe winks, reaching out to grab Beca’s hands.

“I don’t dance,” Beca protests perhaps a little too unconvincingly, though Chloe has already tugged her closer, and Beca cannot help her shrill laugh as Chloe releases one hand to lift the other and daintily twirl Beca on the spot.

“Sure you do,” Chloe giggles, hips swaying as she proceeds to twirl Beca again.

Evidently, she had gotten away much too easily with keeping her balance when they’d been skating earlier, because this time, Beca of course loses her footing, and she awaits the inevitable feeling of the wet concrete against her butt.

It doesn’t come, though. Before Beca properly falls, Chloe’s grip on her hand tightens, until her arm is circling around her waist again, and suddenly Beca’s body is pressed right up against Chloe’s. Their faces are incredibly close, but rather than freak out and take a step back like her brain is telling her to do, Beca finds herself simply watching Chloe. She watches the grin spread across her lips, takes note of her now much more faded gloss, before it falls to something of a more relaxed, contented smile, and despite the fact that the world around them is much darker now, she is positive she can see Chloe’s eyes sparkling through the pouring rain.

“Told you I wouldn’t let you fall,” Chloe breathes, gaze sweeping unabashedly over Beca’s face.

For some reason, Beca’s chest has begun to rise and fall much faster now, but she still doesn’t move away from Chloe. Despite the fact that she has steadied and found her balance, she remains tightly pressed up against her, hand still comfortably holding Chloe’s, and Beca registers the coddling feeling of a soft thumb sweeping over the back of her knuckles.

“I thought that was just a skating thing,” Beca responds in a softer voice, studying Chloe’s face through the fan of her lashes.

“It’s an always thing,” Chloe says in a tone soft enough to match Beca’s. While she keeps holding onto her hand, she brings the arm from around Beca’s waist until she can lift her hand to delicately push a chunk of rain dampened hair behind Beca’s ear.

Although Beca stares a moment longer, she only responds with a gentle, quiet nod, until they are finally releasing their grasps on one another’s hands.

Their brief detour lasts only the length of the song, and soon they are climbing back into Chloe’s truck, their soaked clothing much more uncomfortable than it had been before. Regardless, Beca doesn’t mind it. She doesn’t mind anything with Chloe, in fact.

The rest of their drive is done largely in silence, the hushed thrum of Chloe’s Spotify playlist in the background, but it is really not an uncomfortable quiet. Beca spends the time thinking about their detour, about the way her heart had begun to beat so rapidly in such a close proximity to Chloe, and when the truck finally rolls toward the end of Beca’s driveway, that same sad pull in her heart appears, the way it had earlier at the idea of them leaving the arcade.

“I’d walk you to your door, but I am _not_ getting out in this,” Chloe jokes, relaxing back into the driver’s seat as she glances toward Beca.

Beca meets her bright gaze with an amused grin of her own, fingers pushing to release the seatbelt. “You’re ridiculous,” she teases, taking a moment to simply meet Chloe’s gaze, and Beca finds that the silence to follow doesn’t scare her, not like it maybe should.

“I had a really great day with you, Beca,” Chloe says into the comfortable quiet, lips curling upward into a natural, contented smile. “Even if you did kick my butt at air hockey.”

While Beca smirks softly at the comment, she nods her head along, too. “I had a great day with you, too.” There is a brief pause, another small stretch of comfortable silence, before Beca finally shuffles in her seat. “I should probably get inside. Um, but I’ll text you later?”

“I’d be sad if you didn’t,” Chloe says, offering Beca another kind smile.

Easily, Beca returns it, before twisting her body to push open the passenger door. She is about halfway out when she feels a gentle tug on her arm, and Beca turns around to allow Chloe to effortlessly pull her in. Beca doesn’t move away, not as Chloe leans forward to push her lips, soft and pouted, gently against Beca’s. In fact, she doesn’t even hesitate; her lids quickly flutter shut, and Beca reciprocates the kiss just as easily as breathing.

It is a smooth, slow peck, but Beca is filled with that now familiar feeling of warmth as they finally part, and her teeth sink instantly into her bottom lip in reaction.

There is an air of serenity around them as Beca finally forces herself to climb from the truck, gently closing the door behind her. A part of her really wants to turn around when she hears the engine starting up, to catch another quick glimpse of Chloe before the day is through, but she stops herself, and instead slowly makes her way toward the house, a part of her appreciating the rain just that little bit more.

She has barely made it through the front door, hair drenched from the downpour outside, when she feels her phone vibrate in her back pocket. Immediately, Beca slips her hand back to pull it out, and she cannot even attempt to rein in the elated expression that bursts onto her features as she reads over the incoming messages.

**Chloe** 🌻  
 _hey, bec?  
_ _i think i’m falling now, too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! You can find me on tumblr [right here](http://chloebeale.tumblr.com).

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Find me [here](http://chloebeale.tumblr.com).


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